Patentable/Patents/US-9633641
US-9633641

Grid based user interference for chord presentation on a touch screen device

PublishedApril 25, 2017
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Improvisation or playing along with a musical group or with a song is enjoyable to people and musicians of all ability levels. However, it is easy to play notes which do not harmonize with other notes and pitches which are being played. Provided herein is a method, computer program product and electronic device for assigning a set of pitches to a plurality of cells of an electronic device having a touch screen input device. The method may include the steps of obtaining an input chord, disassembling the chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, arranging a predetermined number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule, and assigning at least one set of pitches to a plurality of cells of an electronic device, said set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord. The present method allows a musician to freely play along without the possibility of playing an errant note as the user does not control the actual pitch associated with the cells being indicated by a user on the touch screen.

Patent Claims
10 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 1

Original Legal Text

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing an electronic device having a touch screen input device to provide a graphical user interface for allowing a user to play or improvise music, said program being configured to cause the electronic device to execute the method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of cells on a touch screen input display of the electronic device, obtaining an input chord, disassembling the chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, arranging a predetermined number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule, and assigning a first set of pitches to a first plurality of said cells, said first set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord in a first octave, and assigning a second set of pitches to a second plurality of said cells, said second set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord in a second octave.

Plain English Translation

A program stored on a computer-readable medium allows a user to play or improvise music on a touch screen device. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells. These pitches correspond to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, these pitches correspond to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave. This allows users to play music within the context of the input chord.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein defining a plurality of cells on a touch screen input display comprises arranging a grid which covers substantially the entire display area of the touch screen input display and wherein the plurality of cells are defined as the cells within arranged grid.

Plain English Translation

The program described previously defines a grid of cells that covers most or all of the touch screen's display area. The cells are defined as the individual elements within this grid. The computer-readable medium storing the program allows a user to play or improvise music on a touch screen device. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 3

Original Legal Text

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 2 , wherein the arranged grid defines a matrix of at least 4×4 cells.

Plain English Translation

The program described previously defines a grid of cells that covers most or all of the touch screen's display area. The cells are defined as the individual elements within this grid, and the grid contains at least a 4x4 matrix of cells. The computer-readable medium storing the program allows a user to play or improvise music on a touch screen device. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 4

Original Legal Text

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of defined cells of the electronic device are preassigned to correspond generally to a base note, a first ordered arranged voice, a second ordered arranged voice, a third ordered arranged voice or a fourth ordered arranged voice, each for a particular octave, wherein each set of arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord are for a particular octave and are ordered in relation to their distance from an anchor key, wherein the first ordered arranged voice corresponds to the arranged voice furthest from the anchor key, and retrieving the base note or arranged and ordered voice of the chord for each cell upon the cell being activated by an input on the touch screen input device.

Plain English Translation

In the program that allows playing music on a touch screen, the defined cells are pre-assigned to represent a base note or a specific arranged voice (first, second, third, or fourth) for a particular octave. These voices are ordered based on their distance from a key note (anchor key). The first ordered voice is the one furthest from the anchor key. When a cell is touched, the program retrieves the corresponding base note or the arranged and ordered voice. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 5

Original Legal Text

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , further comprising; obtaining a new input chord, disassembling the new chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, arranging a predetermined number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule, and reassigning at least one new set of pitches corresponding to the new base note and new arranged predetermined number of voices of the new chord to said plurality of cells of the electronic device in response to an event.

Plain English Translation

In the program that allows playing music on a touch screen, a new chord can be input, disassembled into a base note and individual voices, and the voices rearranged according to a predefined rule. In response to an event, the program reassigns pitches to the cells based on the new base note and rearranged voices of the new chord. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 6

Original Legal Text

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5 , wherein said event is a predefined user action or the change of chord to the new chord from either an audio source or a computer readable source associated with an audio source.

Plain English Translation

Building upon the program that reassigns pitches upon a new chord input, the "event" triggering the reassignment is either a user action (e.g., tapping a button) or a chord change detected from an audio source or a computer-readable file linked to an audio source. The program obtains a new chord as input, separates the new chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, and arranges a certain number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule. The program reassigns at least one new set of pitches corresponding to the new base note and new arranged number of voices of the new chord to said plurality of cells of the electronic device in response to the event.

Claim 7

Original Legal Text

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein pitches are assigned to cells in the grid in such a manner that the lower left cell contains the absolute lowest pitch of the assigned pitches, the top right cell contains the absolute highest pitch of the assigned pitches, and the pitches increase both left to right and bottom to top within the grid.

Plain English Translation

In the program that displays a grid of cells with assigned pitches, the pitches are arranged so that the lowest pitch is in the bottom-left cell, the highest pitch is in the top-right cell, and the pitches increase from left to right and from bottom to top within the grid. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , further comprising displaying a video source behind the plurality of cells, wherein the video source is associated with at least one audio source and optionally a chord source from which the chord information is obtained.

Plain English Translation

The program that allows playing music on a touch screen can also display a video in the background, behind the cells. This video can be associated with an audio source and, optionally, chord information which is the same information used to determine the pitches assigned to the cells. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells, corresponding to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, corresponding to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave.

Claim 9

Original Legal Text

9. An electronic device comprising; a touch screen input device and a corresponding display, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing an electronic device having a touch screen input device to provide a graphical user interface for allowing a user to play or improvise music, said program being configured to cause the electronic device to execute the method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of cells on a touch screen input display of the electronic device, obtaining an input chord, disassembling the chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, arranging a predetermined number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule, and assigning a first set of pitches to a first plurality of said cells, said first set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord in a first octave, and assigning a second set of pitches to a second plurality of said cells, said second set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord in a second octave.

Plain English Translation

An electronic device for playing or improvising music has a touch screen and a program stored in memory. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen. It takes a chord as input, separates the chord into a base note and individual voices, and arranges a certain number of these voices according to a predefined rule. The program then assigns a first set of pitches to some of the cells. These pitches correspond to the base note and arranged voices in a first octave. It also assigns a second set of pitches to another group of cells, these pitches correspond to the base note and arrangement of voices in a second octave. This allows users to play music within the context of the input chord.

Claim 10

Original Legal Text

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing an electronic device having a touch screen input device to provide a graphical user interface for allowing a user to play or improvise music, said program being configured to cause the electronic device to execute the method comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of cells on a touch screen input display of the electronic device, obtaining an input chord, disassembling the chord into at least one base note and a plurality of individual voices, arranging a predetermined number of voices of the chord according to at least one predefined rule, assigning at least one set of pitches to a plurality said cells, said set of pitches corresponding to the base note and arranged predetermined number of voices of the chord, and displaying a video source behind the plurality of cells, wherein the video source is associated with at least one audio source and optionally a chord source from which the chord information is obtained.

Plain English Translation

A program stored on a computer-readable medium enables music playing on a touch screen device. The program defines multiple cells on the touch screen, takes a chord as input, separates it into a base note and individual voices, and arranges these voices according to a rule. The program assigns pitches to the cells based on the base note and arranged voices. A video is displayed behind the cells, synchronized with an audio source and optionally chord information that matches the assigned pitches. This allows playing/improvising music with a visual aid.

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Patent Metadata

Filing Date

June 4, 2014

Publication Date

April 25, 2017

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